Mastodon (band)
Encyclopedia
Mastodon is an American heavy metal
band from Atlanta, Georgia
, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders
, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds
, guitarist Bill Kelliher
and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor
. They have released five full-length albums to date, with 2009's Crack the Skye
selling 41,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200
chart.
and guitarist Bill Kelliher
moved to Atlanta from Victor, New York
and met bassist/singer Troy Sanders
and guitarist/singer Brent Hinds
at a High on Fire
show. They discovered they had a mutual appreciation of sludge metal
bands Melvins and Neurosis
and '70s hard-rockers Thin Lizzy
, and shortly thereafter formed Mastodon. In an interview in 2009, Kelliher revealed that the first time Hinds attended a practice with the band, he "showed up so wasted he couldn't play".
The band recorded a demo in 2000, which featured the band's first lead singer, Eric Saner on vocals. Saner left the band for personal reasons after just a couple of months. After recording a four song demo and a 7-inch picture disc through Reptilian Records, Mastodon landed a record deal with Relapse Records in 2001. They released an EP, Lifesblood
in 2001 and their first full-length album, Remission
, was released in 2002, with the singles "March of the Fire Ants" and "Crusher/Destroyer" (which was also featured on Tony Hawk's Underground
). On each of Mastodon's first three full-length albums the last track relates to the Elephant Man
.
, was released in 2004. It is a concept album
loosely based on Herman Melville's
novel Moby Dick. The band received critical acclaim for Leviathan
and it was named album of the year by Kerrang!
and Terrorizer. "Blood and Thunder" which featured Clutch
vocalist Neil Fallon
was chosen as one of the most important recordings of the decade by National Public Radio in November 2009, and that the entire album epitomizes " a phenomenal decade for metal". Leviathan
also ranked second in a list by Metal Hammer
of the best albums of 2004.
The band went on tour in support of the album, playing throughout North America and Europe in The Unholy Alliance
tour along with Slayer
and Slipknot
.
"Blood and Thunder" is featured in the video games Need for Speed: Most Wanted
, Project Gotham Racing 3
, and Saints Row
. "Blood and Thunder" was added as a playable track on all instruments in "Guitar Hero: Metallica
" and was featured in Japanese music games Drummania V2
and Guitarfreaks V2
. It has also been released as downloadable content for Rock Band 3
, with Pro Guitar support also available at extra cost.
Leviathan
was followed by the 2006 release of Call of the Mastodon
, a remastered collection of the band's first nine songs, and a DVD of interviews and concert footage called The Workhorse Chronicles
that includes material from the band's early days as a five-piece. These two releases were the band's last for Relapse Records
, as they would later go on to sign with Warner Bros.
Mastodon also recorded a cover version of Metallica
's "Orion" for a 2006 Kerrang!
tribute album honoring the 20-year anniversary of the release of Master of Puppets
.
in Europe and Slayer in Australia and New Zealand. The Mars Volta
frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala
lent his vocals to the track "Siberian Divide." Queens of the Stone Age
frontman Josh Homme contributed vocals for the song "Colony of Birchmen
."
The band performed the song "Colony of Birchmen" on NBC
's Late Night with Conan O'Brien
on November 1, their first appearance on network television, to a viewing audience of around 2.4 million people. This song was also featured in the video games, Saints Row 2
and Rock Band 2
.
The band's first single off Blood Mountain, "Capillarian Crest" was ranked number 27 in Rolling Stone
Magazine's Top 100 Songs of 2006. The album itself was ranked 9th in the magazine's best albums of the year chart. The UK's Metal Hammer voted it the best album of 2006 in its end of year critic's poll. The album was voted in at #5 by Kerrang! in their end of year list. Also number 6 on PopMatters
' Best Albums of 2006 and number 1 on The Best Metal Albums of 2006. About.com rated it the top metal album of 2006. Blood Mountain was also named best album of 2006 in the 10th anniversary birthday edition (issue 119) of Bizarre
. It also came in at #2 on Revolver magazine's list of the top albums of 2006. The band was named Artist Of The Month for March 2007 at Gametap.com
.
The band had been touring and playing numerous shows during this time. Mastodon joined Against Me!
, and Cursive
for a North American tour, with Planes Mistaken for Stars
opening for one leg and These Arms Are Snakes
the other. A performance in Milwaukee
had to be canceled due to illness on the part of Brent Hinds. Mastodon would play the Hove Festival
in Norway
as well as on the Main Stage of the Download Festival and then the Pitchfork Music Festival
. During this time the band opened for Metallica
on the Sick of the Studio tour. The band also played at the 2007 Dubai Desert Rock
, the 2008 Bonnaroo Music festivals
, and the inaugural Mayhem Festival
. Mastodon then toured with Slayer
, Trivium
, Lamb of God
and several other metal bands in 2008 for The Unholy Alliance tour 2008
.
The band performed "Colony of Birchmen" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
live with Josh Homme. After the televised performance, member Brent Hinds
was reported to have sustained a severe head injury. Blabbermouth.net initially reported that it was the result of a brutal assault but the police report later suggested that an inebriated
Hinds had started a fight with System of a Down
bassist Shavo Odadjian
and vocalist William Hudson, also known as Reverend William Burke of Achozen
.
"Sleeping Giant" was made available as a downloadable song for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
, "Colony of Birchmen" was included on Harmonix's Rock Band 2
, and "Divinations" was featured in Madden NFL 10
. Mastodon contributed a cover version of Harry Nilsson
's "One" to the video game Army of Two
's advertisement campaign. The band members are fans of Aqua Teen Hunger Force
, and in 2007, Mastodon performed the opening song of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, "Cut You Up with a Linoleum Knife".
was released on March 24, 2009 as a normal version and a deluxe version (which includes all songs in instrumental versions as well as their normal versions) and entered the Billboard 200 at number 11 a week later. The album is produced by Brendan O'Brien
and Scott Kelly
of Neurosis
returns as a guest musician on the title-track.
In a MusicRadar
interview, guitarist Bill Kelliher confirmed the album is about an "out of body experience," and looks at the concepts of astral travel, wormhole
s, Stephen Hawking
's theories and the spiritual realm.
The album follows a quadriplegic who learns astral projection
. On his journey he flies too close to the sun, burning his umbilical cord which connects him to his body, and flies into oblivion. At the same time in Czarist Russia, Rasputin and his cult were channeling spirits and brought the quadriplegic to their time. He explains his situation and foretells the assassination of Rasputin. Inevitably Rasputin is assassinated and Rasputin guides him back to his body. The band had debuted three new tracks at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, but did not play any more live shows before the album's release, due to fears of internet distribution and wanting to play the songs to the right audience. Drummer Brann Dailor sings lead vocals for the verses of the song "Oblivion." Mastodon was a headliner at the Scion Rock Fest on February 28, 2009, performing a set containing three tracks from Crack the Skye, the first time these songs were played since being finalized and recorded.
On May 15, 2009, Mastodon performed a shortened version of "Oblivion" on The Late Show With David Letterman.
In order to support their new album, Mastodon toured with Metallica
on the latter part of the 2009 European leg of their World Magnetic Tour
. In Fall of 2009, they embarked with Dethklok
on the "Adult Swim Presents" tour along with Converge
and High on Fire
. On October 17, 2009, they recorded a DVD documenting the tour at the Aragon Ballroom
in Chicago. Mastodon played the alternative music festival "Big Day Out" in January and February 2010. Mastodon toured across Australia and New Zealand playing alongside notable bands such as; Muse
, Lily Allen
, Rise Against
, Karnivool
, Peaches
, The Mars Volta
, Eskimo Joe
, Powderfinger
and several other Australian and international bands.
On October 29, 2009 they performed "Divinations" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
.
On November 4 Mastodon released their second EP
, titled Oblivion EP
.
Teaming up with bands Deftones
and Alice in Chains
, Mastodon went on tour in September 2010 in the United States and Canada. The tour is called Blackdiamondskye
, a portmanteau of the three bands' latest albums (Black Gives Way to Blue
, Diamond Eyes
, and Crack the Skye).
Film director Jimmy Hayward
contacted the band during their 2009 tour of Europe and expressed how much listening to Blood Mountain
had helped his creative process while finishing a screenplay, and he offered Mastodon a chance to score the film he had been working on - Jonah Hex
. In an interview with Paste magazine, bassist Troy Sanders said that Hayward "called us out of the blue as a fan. It was the most beautiful, authentic way to collaborate." Mastodon used scenes from the film as inspiration during the writing and recording process, and the instrumental soundtrack, Jonah Hex: Revenge Gets Ugly EP
, was released on June 29, 2010 through Reprise Records
.
In 2010, the band was confirmed as being part of the soundtrack for Namco Bandai Games
' 2010 remake of Splatterhouse. The game's protagonist can also be seen wearing a Mastodon T-shirt in certain flashback cutscenes.
through Reprise. The recording features the entire performance of their fourth studio album, Crack the Skye
, along with songs from their previous records.
The Hunter
, Mastodon's fifth studio album
was recorded at Doppler Studios in Atlanta with producer Mike Elizondo
. The first hints of the new album were given by the band via Facebook
in January 2011. . Drummer Brann Dailor revealed during interviews the title of the band's new album and described the new material as not so much proggy as riff-oriented and "a little more stripped down".
Meanwhile, the band performed in many major summer festivals. and on June 28, 2011, Mastodon released through Adultswim.com
a leftover track from the "Crack the Skye"' sessions called "Deathbound".
The first taste of The Hunter came in July 2011 where Mastodon released via Youtube
the song "Black Tongue", set to a video of AJ Fosik creating the sculpture used for the album cover. By August 12th, the band had revealed the track listing from the Hunter and debuted "Curl Of The Burl", the first official single from the new album. Mike Elizondo
was chosen to produce the album which marks his first time working with the band.
It was also announced that a deluxe edition would be released. It featured the two bonus tracks "The Ruiner" and "Deathbound" and a different cover.
On September 6, Mastodon released a third song from The Hunter, "Spectrelight", featuring Scott Kelly
of Neurosis
.
On September 16th, the band released a 53 minute custom visualizer with all of the album tracks,11 days prior to the release of "The Hunter". In support of the album a North American headline tour was announced. The album was very well received by fans and the media. It also performed strongly on the official charts, rising to number ten on the Billboard top 200, which is their best placement to date.
On October 5th 2011, they performed "Curl of the Burl" on Late Show with David Letterman
.
On October 12, a UK tour was announced that will run through February 2012. They were at Later... with Jools Holland where they performed "Black Tongue" & "Curl of the Burl".
A seventeen date European tour was announced that featured dates in Scandinavia
, Germany
, France
, Spain
, Belgium
, Portugal
, Italy
and Holland.
On December 1st "Curl of the Burl" was nominated for a Grammy Award
in the category Best Metal/Hard Rock preformance
. It's the bands second nomination with the first being for "Colony of Birchmen" in 2008.
, progressive metal
, stoner metal, Alternative Metal
, and groove metal
. Their style has evolved over the years from their earliest work on Remission
right through to The Hunter
. Many of their songs features heavy and unique instrumentation with a mix of clean vocals and harsh screams.
Their four first albums all deal with a special theme respectively Fire, Water, Earth and Air. It is also stated that many of their albums deal with a concept.
Scott Kelly
of Neurosis
has preformed vocals on every Mastodon album excluding Remission
.
Leviathan
is about the novel Moby-Dick
. It centers around the main characters and their thoughts during the story.
Blood Mountain
is about a man who is searching for the "Crystal Skull" which is on top of the "Blood Mountain". During his journey he deals with many different creatures such as a "Cysquatch"
According to bassist Troy Sanders
, "It's about climbing up a mountain and the different things that can happen to you when you're stranded on a mountain, in the woods, and you're lost. You're starving, hallucinating, running into strange creatures. You're being hunted. It's about that whole struggle."
Crack the Skye
deals with many different themes. The title is a tribute to "Skye" the little sister of Drummer Brann Dailor
who committed suicide at the age of fourteen. Much of the album centers around astral projection and out of body experiences.
The Hunter
does not deal with an entire concept like their earlier work but is remarked by the band to have an attachment to the Chinese classical element of wood. Songs such as Spectrelight or Black Tongue seem to have no meaning, while songs such as Dry Bone Valley (especially) and Octopus Has No Friends (a misnomer, as the song does not have anything to do with octopuses) are seemingly cut from a concept album. The title is a tribute to Hind's brother, Brad Hinds who died of a heart attack on December 4th 2010 while out hunting.
BBC
stated about Mastodon: "They might be bonkers of lyric, full of fantasy mumbo jumbo, but the band is unashamedly committed to its complex-of-composition craft, and the results have frequently stunned ever since their 2002 debut, Remission. They are the most ambitious, most fearless, most fun heavy metal band to have breached the mainstream since the genre oozed its way out of the Midlands in the 1970s."
Alternative Press has stated: "Mastodon are one of the all-time great hard-rock groups."
An article in the April 2009 issue of Rolling Stone
stated that "Mastodon are the greatest metal band of their generation - no one else comes close."
Former members
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band from Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders
Troy Sanders
Troy Sanders is an American bassist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares vocal duties with guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor.-Background:...
, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds
Brent Hinds
Brent Hinds is an American guitarist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor....
, guitarist Bill Kelliher
Bill Kelliher
Bill Kelliher is a guitarist in the Atlanta heavy metal band Mastodon. He is a native of Victor, New York. He shares guitar duties with Brent Hinds, playing mainly complex rhythm parts. Kelliher is married, with two young sons—the eldest one named Harrison, after Harrison Ford of Star Wars fame...
and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor
Brann Dailor
Brann Dailor is a drummer, best known as a member of Mastodon, a progressive metal band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Dailor was also a founding member of mathcore band Lethargy, and played with grindcore bands Discordance Axis and Today is the Day.-Personal life:Dailor was born into a musical family...
. They have released five full-length albums to date, with 2009's Crack the Skye
Crack the Skye
Crack the Skye is the fourth studio album by American sludge metal band Mastodon, released on March 24, 2009 through Reprise Records. It features seven tracks and runs at 50 minutes and 6 seconds. The album debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200, selling 41,000 copies in its first week. In...
selling 41,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart.
Formation and early years (1999–2003)
Mastodon was formed in late 1999 when drummer Brann DailorBrann Dailor
Brann Dailor is a drummer, best known as a member of Mastodon, a progressive metal band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Dailor was also a founding member of mathcore band Lethargy, and played with grindcore bands Discordance Axis and Today is the Day.-Personal life:Dailor was born into a musical family...
and guitarist Bill Kelliher
Bill Kelliher
Bill Kelliher is a guitarist in the Atlanta heavy metal band Mastodon. He is a native of Victor, New York. He shares guitar duties with Brent Hinds, playing mainly complex rhythm parts. Kelliher is married, with two young sons—the eldest one named Harrison, after Harrison Ford of Star Wars fame...
moved to Atlanta from Victor, New York
Victor, New York
Victor is a town in Ontario County, New York, USA. The population was 9,977 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Claudius Victor Boughton, a hero of the War of 1812.The Town of Victor contains a village, also called Victor...
and met bassist/singer Troy Sanders
Troy Sanders
Troy Sanders is an American bassist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares vocal duties with guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor.-Background:...
and guitarist/singer Brent Hinds
Brent Hinds
Brent Hinds is an American guitarist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor....
at a High on Fire
High on Fire
High on Fire is a stoner metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, previously played guitar for the influential stoner doom band Sleep.-History:...
show. They discovered they had a mutual appreciation of sludge metal
Sludge metal
Sludge metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that melds elements of doom metal and hardcore punk, and sometimes incorporates influences from southern rock, stoner rock and grunge. Sludge metal is typically abrasive; often featuring shouted vocals, heavily distorted instruments and sharply contrasting...
bands Melvins and Neurosis
Neurosis (band)
Neurosis is a post-metal band, based in Oakland, California. They formed in 1985 as a hardcore punk band, and their sound progressed towards a doom metal style that also included influences from dark ambient and industrial music as well as incorporating elements of folk music...
and '70s hard-rockers Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
, and shortly thereafter formed Mastodon. In an interview in 2009, Kelliher revealed that the first time Hinds attended a practice with the band, he "showed up so wasted he couldn't play".
The band recorded a demo in 2000, which featured the band's first lead singer, Eric Saner on vocals. Saner left the band for personal reasons after just a couple of months. After recording a four song demo and a 7-inch picture disc through Reptilian Records, Mastodon landed a record deal with Relapse Records in 2001. They released an EP, Lifesblood
Lifesblood
-Credits:*Brann Dailor − Drums*Brent Hinds − Guitar, vocals*Bill Kelliher − Guitar*Troy Sanders − Bass, vocals...
in 2001 and their first full-length album, Remission
Remission (Mastodon album)
Remission is the first full-length debut album by American sludge metal band Mastodon. It was released on May 28, 2002 through Relapse Records and was re-released on October 21, 2003.-Production:...
, was released in 2002, with the singles "March of the Fire Ants" and "Crusher/Destroyer" (which was also featured on Tony Hawk's Underground
Tony Hawk's Underground
Tony Hawk's Underground, abbreviated to THUG, is a skateboarding video game, available for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Xbox platforms released in 2003. A PC version was released exclusively in Australia as a budget release in 2005. This version was ported by Beenox. In 2004,...
). On each of Mastodon's first three full-length albums the last track relates to the Elephant Man
Joseph Merrick
Joseph Carey Merrick , sometimes incorrectly referred to as John Merrick, was an English man with severe deformities who was exhibited as a human curiosity named the Elephant Man. He became well known in London society after he went to live at the London Hospital...
.
Leviathan (2004–2005)
Their second full-length album, LeviathanLeviathan (album)
Leviathan is a concept album by sludge metal band Mastodon, released in 2004 by Relapse Records. The album is loosely based on the Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick, and the songs "Iron Tusk", "Blood and Thunder", "I Am Ahab" and "Seabeast" were released as singles...
, was released in 2004. It is a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
loosely based on Herman Melville's
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
novel Moby Dick. The band received critical acclaim for Leviathan
Leviathan (album)
Leviathan is a concept album by sludge metal band Mastodon, released in 2004 by Relapse Records. The album is loosely based on the Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick, and the songs "Iron Tusk", "Blood and Thunder", "I Am Ahab" and "Seabeast" were released as singles...
and it was named album of the year by Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
and Terrorizer. "Blood and Thunder" which featured Clutch
Clutch (band)
Clutch is an American rock band from Germantown, Maryland, formed in 1990. The band's first release was an EP entitled Pitchfork, which debuted in October 1990. Their first studio album, Transnational Speedway League, was released three years later in 1993. To date, Clutch has released nine studio...
vocalist Neil Fallon
Neil Fallon
Neil P. Fallon is the lead singer and occasional rhythm guitarist, keyboardist and percussionist for the rock band Clutch, and lead singer for The Company Band...
was chosen as one of the most important recordings of the decade by National Public Radio in November 2009, and that the entire album epitomizes " a phenomenal decade for metal". Leviathan
Leviathan (album)
Leviathan is a concept album by sludge metal band Mastodon, released in 2004 by Relapse Records. The album is loosely based on the Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick, and the songs "Iron Tusk", "Blood and Thunder", "I Am Ahab" and "Seabeast" were released as singles...
also ranked second in a list by Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
of the best albums of 2004.
The band went on tour in support of the album, playing throughout North America and Europe in The Unholy Alliance
The Unholy Alliance (tour)
The Unholy Alliance Tour is a biennial heavy metal concert tour of Europe and North America, with the tag-line "Preaching to the Perverted". The tour is headlined by the thrash metal band Slayer, and featured Trivium, Amon Amarth and Mastodon in its latest edition.-Europe 2004:The 2004 European...
tour along with Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
and Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
.
"Blood and Thunder" is featured in the video games Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Need for Speed: Most Wanted is a racing video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It is the tenth installment in the Need for Speed series. The game features street racing-oriented game play, with certain customization options from the Need for Speed: Underground series...
, Project Gotham Racing 3
Project Gotham Racing 3
Project Gotham Racing 3 is an arcade-style racing game that was released with the launch of the Xbox 360 on November 22, 2005 for the US market and December 2, 2005 in Europe, and was released on January 12, 2006 in Japan. Developed by Bizarre Creations, it is the third installment in the Project...
, and Saints Row
Saints Row
Saints Row is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ. It is the first title in the Saints Row series and is succeeded by Saints Row 2. A PlayStation 3 port was cancelled after protracted development time...
. "Blood and Thunder" was added as a playable track on all instruments in "Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009 and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, 2009, with a European release in May 2009...
" and was featured in Japanese music games Drummania V2
DrumMania
is a music video game series produced by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., where colored notes travel down the screen which correspond with color coded parts of an electronic drum set...
and Guitarfreaks V2
GuitarFreaks
is a music video game series produced by Konami. The player uses a controller to simulate the playing of an electric guitar. The game consists of music predominantly from rock and roll and J-Pop genres, and is now in its 19th version, GuitarFreaks V8, which was released in March 28, 2011...
. It has also been released as downloadable content for Rock Band 3
Rock Band 3
Rock Band 3 is a music video game, developed by Harmonix Music Systems. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, with Mad Catz taking over both roles a year later. It is the third main game in the Rock Band series...
, with Pro Guitar support also available at extra cost.
Leviathan
Leviathan (album)
Leviathan is a concept album by sludge metal band Mastodon, released in 2004 by Relapse Records. The album is loosely based on the Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick, and the songs "Iron Tusk", "Blood and Thunder", "I Am Ahab" and "Seabeast" were released as singles...
was followed by the 2006 release of Call of the Mastodon
Call of the Mastodon
A live version of "Where Strides the Behemoth" is featured as a bonus track on the Japanese release of the album, released one week earlier....
, a remastered collection of the band's first nine songs, and a DVD of interviews and concert footage called The Workhorse Chronicles
The Workhorse Chronicles
"The Workhorse Chronicles" is a DVD release by American progressive metal band Mastodon released on February 21, 2006 through Relapse Records and marks the band's final release through the company, before signing up to Warner Bros. Records....
that includes material from the band's early days as a five-piece. These two releases were the band's last for Relapse Records
Relapse Records
Relapse Records is an independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990.-History:The label was started by Matthew F. Jacobson in August, 1990 in his parents' basement in Aurora, Colorado...
, as they would later go on to sign with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Mastodon also recorded a cover version of Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's "Orion" for a 2006 Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
tribute album honoring the 20-year anniversary of the release of Master of Puppets
Master of Puppets
-Personnel:Metallica* James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar on track 1, first solo on tracks 2 and 7* Cliff Burton – bass, backing vocals* Lars Ulrich – drums* Kirk Hammett – lead guitarProduction...
.
Blood Mountain (2006–2008)
Their third studio album was released on September 12, 2006, followed by a tour to support the album along with ToolTool (band)
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...
in Europe and Slayer in Australia and New Zealand. The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta is a Grammy award winning American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2001 by guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the band incorporates various influences including progressive rock, krautrock, jazz fusion, Latin American music, and...
frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala
Cedric Bixler-Zavala
Cedric Bixler-Zavala is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-American musician known for his work as frontman and lyricist of the progressive rock band The Mars Volta, and previously as frontman and occasional guitarist of the post-hardcore punk group At the Drive-In...
lent his vocals to the track "Siberian Divide." Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
frontman Josh Homme contributed vocals for the song "Colony of Birchmen
Colony of Birchmen
"Colony of Birchmen" is a single by American heavy metal band Mastodon. It was featured on the group's third album, Blood Mountain. The song features backing vocals from Josh Homme, lead singer of the alternative rock band Queens of the Stone Age....
."
The band performed the song "Colony of Birchmen" on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
on November 1, their first appearance on network television, to a viewing audience of around 2.4 million people. This song was also featured in the video games, Saints Row 2
Saints Row 2
Saints Row 2 is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 systems. It is the second title in the Saints Row series, after the release of Saints Row in 2006. It is succeeded by Saints Row: The...
and Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
.
The band's first single off Blood Mountain, "Capillarian Crest" was ranked number 27 in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
Magazine's Top 100 Songs of 2006. The album itself was ranked 9th in the magazine's best albums of the year chart. The UK's Metal Hammer voted it the best album of 2006 in its end of year critic's poll. The album was voted in at #5 by Kerrang! in their end of year list. Also number 6 on PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
' Best Albums of 2006 and number 1 on The Best Metal Albums of 2006. About.com rated it the top metal album of 2006. Blood Mountain was also named best album of 2006 in the 10th anniversary birthday edition (issue 119) of Bizarre
Bizarre (magazine)
Bizarre is a British alternative magazine published from 1997 to the present. It is currently published by Dennis Publishing; it is a sister publication to the Fortean Times.-Content:...
. It also came in at #2 on Revolver magazine's list of the top albums of 2006. The band was named Artist Of The Month for March 2007 at Gametap.com
GameTap
GameTap is an American online video game service established by Turner Broadcasting System . Dubbed by TBS as a "first of its kind broadband gaming network", the service provides users with classic arcade video games and game-related video content...
.
The band had been touring and playing numerous shows during this time. Mastodon joined Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida and relocated to Gainesville, Florida in 1999. Their first full-length album, released on No Idea Records in 2002, was Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose. They have released music on Misanthrope Records, Crasshole Records,...
, and Cursive
Cursive (band)
Cursive is an American indie rock band from Omaha, Nebraska, on Saddle Creek Records.-History:The band was formed in 1995 by Tim Kasher, Matt Maginn, Steve Pedersen , and drummer Clint Schnase. In 1997, they released Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes. After a couple years of touring, the band...
for a North American tour, with Planes Mistaken for Stars
Planes Mistaken for Stars
Planes Mistaken for Stars was a emocore band formed in Peoria, Illinois in 1997. They released music on Deep Elm Records, Dim Mak Records, No Idea Records and Abacus Recordings.-History:...
opening for one leg and These Arms Are Snakes
These Arms Are Snakes
These Arms Are Snakes was an American post-hardcore band that formed in 2002 and featured former members of Botch and Kill Sadie. The band was known for their intense live shows, which often feature vocalist Steve Snere crowd surfing and spending a large portion of the live performance in the...
the other. A performance in Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
had to be canceled due to illness on the part of Brent Hinds. Mastodon would play the Hove Festival
Hove Festival
The Hove Festival is a music festival held on the island Tromøy outside of Arendal in southern Norway. It was held for the first time from 26–30 June 2007. Since 2007 Hove festival has been the largest music festival in Norway....
in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
as well as on the Main Stage of the Download Festival and then the Pitchfork Music Festival
Pitchfork Music Festival
The Pitchfork Music Festival is an annual summer music festival organized by Pitchfork Media and held in Union Park in Chicago, IL. The festival, which is normally held over three days in July, focuses primarily on artists and bands from alternative rock, rap & hip-hop, electronica, and dance...
. During this time the band opened for Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
on the Sick of the Studio tour. The band also played at the 2007 Dubai Desert Rock
Dubai Desert Rock Festival
The Dubai Desert Rock Festival was an event celebrating various styles of rock and metal music on one stage in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. At the time, it was the only festival of its kind in the Middle East. As well as live music, extreme sports were also featured as crowd attractions...
, the 2008 Bonnaroo Music festivals
Bonnaroo Music Festival
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an annual four day music festival created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, held at Great Stage Park on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. It hosted its tenth annual event June 9–12, 2011...
, and the inaugural Mayhem Festival
Mayhem festival
The Mayhem Festival is a touring metal festival that takes place during the summer. The inaugural iteration took place in 2008; the festival has since become an annual event across the United States and Quebec, Canada. The tour has been sponsored by the Rockstar Energy Company since the time of its...
. Mastodon then toured with Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, Trivium
Trivium (band)
Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. Signed to Roadrunner Records, the band has released five studio albums, eleven singles, and twelve music videos...
, Lamb of God
Lamb of God (band)
Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994, the group consists of vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Chris Adler...
and several other metal bands in 2008 for The Unholy Alliance tour 2008
The Unholy Alliance (tour)
The Unholy Alliance Tour is a biennial heavy metal concert tour of Europe and North America, with the tag-line "Preaching to the Perverted". The tour is headlined by the thrash metal band Slayer, and featured Trivium, Amon Amarth and Mastodon in its latest edition.-Europe 2004:The 2004 European...
.
The band performed "Colony of Birchmen" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
2007 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year, took place on September 9, in Las Vegas at The Palms. The 2007 VMAs were the smallest VMAs ever held in MTV history, eliminating 13 awards, re-naming many of the remaining awards, and having only four...
live with Josh Homme. After the televised performance, member Brent Hinds
Brent Hinds
Brent Hinds is an American guitarist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor....
was reported to have sustained a severe head injury. Blabbermouth.net initially reported that it was the result of a brutal assault but the police report later suggested that an inebriated
Drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
Hinds had started a fight with System of a Down
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
bassist Shavo Odadjian
Shavo Odadjian
Shavarsh "Shavo" Odadjian is an Armenian American songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music video director/editor, music producer, and artist/painter. He is best known as the bassist, backing vocalist and occasional songwriter of the Grammy Award-winning rock band System of a Down...
and vocalist William Hudson, also known as Reverend William Burke of Achozen
Achozen
Achozen [pronounced: UH-choh-zen] is a project by System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian, Wu-Tang Clan member RZA, Killarmy member Kinetic 9, and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate Reverend William Burke...
.
"Sleeping Giant" was made available as a downloadable song for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game, the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall...
, "Colony of Birchmen" was included on Harmonix's Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
, and "Divinations" was featured in Madden NFL 10
Madden NFL 10
For the tenth installment in the Madden series, see Madden 64Madden NFL 10 is an American football video game based on the National Football League that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 21st annual installment in the Madden NFL video game franchise...
. Mastodon contributed a cover version of Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...
's "One" to the video game Army of Two
Army of Two
Army of Two is a third person shooter video game developed and published by Electronic Arts. It was released on March 4, 2008 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. The game is centered upon two mercenaries fighting through war, political turmoil, and a conspiracy from 1993 to 2009...
's advertisement campaign. The band members are fans of Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Aqua Teen Hunger Force , retitled Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 in 2011, is an American animated television series on Cartoon Network late night programing block, Adult Swim, as well as Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block and later G4 Canada's ADd block in Canada...
, and in 2007, Mastodon performed the opening song of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, "Cut You Up with a Linoleum Knife".
Crack the Skye (2009–2010)
Crack the SkyeCrack the Skye
Crack the Skye is the fourth studio album by American sludge metal band Mastodon, released on March 24, 2009 through Reprise Records. It features seven tracks and runs at 50 minutes and 6 seconds. The album debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200, selling 41,000 copies in its first week. In...
was released on March 24, 2009 as a normal version and a deluxe version (which includes all songs in instrumental versions as well as their normal versions) and entered the Billboard 200 at number 11 a week later. The album is produced by Brendan O'Brien
Brendan O'Brien (music producer)
Brendan O’Brien is a record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician.At age 14, O'Brien played guitar for the Atlanta-based cover band Pranks. In the late 1970s, he moved on to writing, performing and recording with the Samurai Catfish band...
and Scott Kelly
Scott Kelly (musician)
Scott Michael Kelly is one of three founding members of Oakland, California experimental metal band Neurosis, in which he is a vocalist and guitarist. He has been writing and publishing music since 1985 with Neurosis, Tribes of Neurot, Blood and Time and his solo acoustic project. He is also...
of Neurosis
Neurosis (band)
Neurosis is a post-metal band, based in Oakland, California. They formed in 1985 as a hardcore punk band, and their sound progressed towards a doom metal style that also included influences from dark ambient and industrial music as well as incorporating elements of folk music...
returns as a guest musician on the title-track.
In a MusicRadar
MusicRadar
MusicRadar is a website for musicians. It covers information pertaining to artists and music, special features, product news and reviews, music lessons and a social network service in the style of Facebook and Myspace...
interview, guitarist Bill Kelliher confirmed the album is about an "out of body experience," and looks at the concepts of astral travel, wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
s, Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity...
's theories and the spiritual realm.
The album follows a quadriplegic who learns astral projection
Astral projection
Astral projection is an interpretation of out-of-body experience that assumes the existence of an "astral body" separate from the physical body and capable of traveling outside it...
. On his journey he flies too close to the sun, burning his umbilical cord which connects him to his body, and flies into oblivion. At the same time in Czarist Russia, Rasputin and his cult were channeling spirits and brought the quadriplegic to their time. He explains his situation and foretells the assassination of Rasputin. Inevitably Rasputin is assassinated and Rasputin guides him back to his body. The band had debuted three new tracks at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, but did not play any more live shows before the album's release, due to fears of internet distribution and wanting to play the songs to the right audience. Drummer Brann Dailor sings lead vocals for the verses of the song "Oblivion." Mastodon was a headliner at the Scion Rock Fest on February 28, 2009, performing a set containing three tracks from Crack the Skye, the first time these songs were played since being finalized and recorded.
On May 15, 2009, Mastodon performed a shortened version of "Oblivion" on The Late Show With David Letterman.
In order to support their new album, Mastodon toured with Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
on the latter part of the 2009 European leg of their World Magnetic Tour
World Magnetic Tour
World Magnetic Tour was a 2008/2009/2010 concert tour by American heavy metal band Metallica in support of the group's ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, which was released in September 2008....
. In Fall of 2009, they embarked with Dethklok
Dethklok
Dethklok is both a virtual band featured in the Adult Swim animated program Metalocalypse, as well as a real band created to perform the band's melodic death metal music in live shows. The band was created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha. The music heard on Metalocalypse is performed by Brendon...
on the "Adult Swim Presents" tour along with Converge
Converge (band)
Converge is an American band from Salem, Massachusetts. Playing a blend of hardcore punk and metal since 1990, Converge has helped to define many of the elements of the metalcore genre.-Description:...
and High on Fire
High on Fire
High on Fire is a stoner metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, previously played guitar for the influential stoner doom band Sleep.-History:...
. On October 17, 2009, they recorded a DVD documenting the tour at the Aragon Ballroom
Aragon Ballroom (Chicago)
The Aragon Ballroom is the name of a ballroom in Chicago, Illinois.Located on West Lawrence Avenue approximately five miles north of downtown in the Uptown neighborhood, it was built in 1926 and designed in the Moorish architectural style with the interior resembling a Spanish village and named...
in Chicago. Mastodon played the alternative music festival "Big Day Out" in January and February 2010. Mastodon toured across Australia and New Zealand playing alongside notable bands such as; Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
, Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
, Rise Against
Rise Against
Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999. The band currently consists of Tim McIlrath , Zach Blair , Joe Principe and Brandon Barnes .Rise Against spent its first five years signed to the independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, on which it...
, Karnivool
Karnivool
Karnivool are an Australian progressive rock band formed in Perth in 1997. The group currently consists of Ian Kenny on vocals, Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking on guitar, Jon Stockman on bass guitar, and Steve Judd on drums. Karnivool emerged from a band Kenny and Goddard formed during high school...
, Peaches
Peaches (musician)
Merrill Beth Nisker , better known by her stage name Peaches, is a Canadian electronic musician and performance artist who lives in Berlin, Germany. Her songs are noted for disregarding traditional gender norms and their use of sexually explicit lyrics...
, The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta is a Grammy award winning American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2001 by guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the band incorporates various influences including progressive rock, krautrock, jazz fusion, Latin American music, and...
, Eskimo Joe
Eskimo Joe
Eskimo Joe is an Australian alternative rock band formed by Stuart MacLeod on guitars, Joel Quartermain on drums and guitar and Kavyen Temperley on bass guitar and vocals, in East Fremantle, Western Australia in 1997....
, Powderfinger
Powderfinger
Powderfinger was an Australian rock band that formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their breakup the band lineup consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bassist John Collins, and drummer Jon Coghill....
and several other Australian and international bands.
On October 29, 2009 they performed "Divinations" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
.
On November 4 Mastodon released their second EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, titled Oblivion EP
Oblivion EP
Oblivion EP is the second EP by Atlanta based sludge metal band Mastodon. It was released via the internet on November 4, 2009. This EP is only for sale in digital format. "The Bit" is a Melvins cover.-Track listing:-Credits:*Brann Dailor − Drums, vocals...
.
Teaming up with bands Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
and Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
, Mastodon went on tour in September 2010 in the United States and Canada. The tour is called Blackdiamondskye
Blackdiamondskye
Blackdiamondskye was a 2010 North American concert tour by American bands Alice in Chains, Mastodon, and Deftones. Blackdiamondskye is a portmanteau of the three band's most recent albums: Alice in Chains' Black Gives Way to Blue, Deftones' Diamond Eyes, and Mastodon's Crack the Skye. The tour...
, a portmanteau of the three bands' latest albums (Black Gives Way to Blue
Black Gives Way to Blue
Black Gives Way to Blue is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released in September 2009. The first Alice in Chains album in nearly fourteen years, Black Gives Way to Blue is their first release with new vocalist/guitarist William DuVall, who took over from the late...
, Diamond Eyes
Diamond Eyes
Diamond Eyes is the sixth album by American Alternative metal band Deftones, released worldwide on May 4, 2010 through Warner Bros. and Reprise Records...
, and Crack the Skye).
Film director Jimmy Hayward
Jimmy Hayward
James "Jimmy" Hayward is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and animator.-Life and career:Hayward was born in Kingston, Ontario. At a young age, Hayward began his career at Mainframe Entertainment animating and directing commercials, he was one of the original animators of the television...
contacted the band during their 2009 tour of Europe and expressed how much listening to Blood Mountain
Blood Mountain
Blood Mountain is the highest peak on the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail and the sixth-tallest mountain in Georgia, with an elevation of . It is located on the border of Lumpkin County with Union County and is within the boundaries of the Chattahoochee National Forest and the Blood...
had helped his creative process while finishing a screenplay, and he offered Mastodon a chance to score the film he had been working on - Jonah Hex
Jonah Hex (film)
Jonah Hex is a 2010 post-Civil War antihero Western film loosely based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film is directed by Jimmy Hayward and stars Josh Brolin as the title character, Jonah Hex, and also stars John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender,...
. In an interview with Paste magazine, bassist Troy Sanders said that Hayward "called us out of the blue as a fan. It was the most beautiful, authentic way to collaborate." Mastodon used scenes from the film as inspiration during the writing and recording process, and the instrumental soundtrack, Jonah Hex: Revenge Gets Ugly EP
Jonah Hex: Revenge Gets Ugly EP
Jonah Hex: Revenge Gets Ugly EP is the official score for the 2010 film Jonah Hex directed by Jimmy Hayward and starring Josh Brolin. The score was composed by American sludge metal band Mastodon and film composer Marco Beltrami...
, was released on June 29, 2010 through Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
.
In 2010, the band was confirmed as being part of the soundtrack for Namco Bandai Games
Namco Bandai Games
is an arcade, mobile and home video game developer and publisher based in Japan which is the product of a merger between the video game development divisions of Bandai and Namco. Namco Bandai Games is a wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings and specializes in production and sales of...
' 2010 remake of Splatterhouse. The game's protagonist can also be seen wearing a Mastodon T-shirt in certain flashback cutscenes.
Live album and The Hunter (2011–present)
On March 15, 2011 Mastodon released their first live DVD/CD entitled Live at the AragonLive at the Aragon
-Reception:Thom Jurek of Allmusic described the live performance by stating "There is little to no spontaneity or improvisation -- which is neither here nor there -- because what Mastodon do musically is so impressive...
through Reprise. The recording features the entire performance of their fourth studio album, Crack the Skye
Crack the Skye
Crack the Skye is the fourth studio album by American sludge metal band Mastodon, released on March 24, 2009 through Reprise Records. It features seven tracks and runs at 50 minutes and 6 seconds. The album debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200, selling 41,000 copies in its first week. In...
, along with songs from their previous records.
The Hunter
The Hunter (Mastodon album)
The Hunter is the fifth studio album by the American metal band Mastodon. Released through Roadrunner Records on September 26, 2011 in the UK and one day later in the US via Reprise Records The Hunter is their first release with producer Mike Elizondo...
, Mastodon's fifth studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
was recorded at Doppler Studios in Atlanta with producer Mike Elizondo
Mike Elizondo
Michael "Mike" Elizondo is a well-known songwriter, bassist, keyboardist, and hip hop music producer.-Musical career:Mike Elizondo is especially known for his collaborations with internationally successful producer Dr. Dre and rapper Eminem. He has played the bass for many of Dr...
. The first hints of the new album were given by the band via Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
in January 2011. . Drummer Brann Dailor revealed during interviews the title of the band's new album and described the new material as not so much proggy as riff-oriented and "a little more stripped down".
Meanwhile, the band performed in many major summer festivals. and on June 28, 2011, Mastodon released through Adultswim.com
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
a leftover track from the "Crack the Skye"' sessions called "Deathbound".
The first taste of The Hunter came in July 2011 where Mastodon released via Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
the song "Black Tongue", set to a video of AJ Fosik creating the sculpture used for the album cover. By August 12th, the band had revealed the track listing from the Hunter and debuted "Curl Of The Burl", the first official single from the new album. Mike Elizondo
Mike Elizondo
Michael "Mike" Elizondo is a well-known songwriter, bassist, keyboardist, and hip hop music producer.-Musical career:Mike Elizondo is especially known for his collaborations with internationally successful producer Dr. Dre and rapper Eminem. He has played the bass for many of Dr...
was chosen to produce the album which marks his first time working with the band.
It was also announced that a deluxe edition would be released. It featured the two bonus tracks "The Ruiner" and "Deathbound" and a different cover.
On September 6, Mastodon released a third song from The Hunter, "Spectrelight", featuring Scott Kelly
Scott Kelly (musician)
Scott Michael Kelly is one of three founding members of Oakland, California experimental metal band Neurosis, in which he is a vocalist and guitarist. He has been writing and publishing music since 1985 with Neurosis, Tribes of Neurot, Blood and Time and his solo acoustic project. He is also...
of Neurosis
Neurosis (band)
Neurosis is a post-metal band, based in Oakland, California. They formed in 1985 as a hardcore punk band, and their sound progressed towards a doom metal style that also included influences from dark ambient and industrial music as well as incorporating elements of folk music...
.
On September 16th, the band released a 53 minute custom visualizer with all of the album tracks,11 days prior to the release of "The Hunter". In support of the album a North American headline tour was announced. The album was very well received by fans and the media. It also performed strongly on the official charts, rising to number ten on the Billboard top 200, which is their best placement to date.
On October 5th 2011, they performed "Curl of the Burl" on Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
.
On October 12, a UK tour was announced that will run through February 2012. They were at Later... with Jools Holland where they performed "Black Tongue" & "Curl of the Burl".
A seventeen date European tour was announced that featured dates in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Holland.
On December 1st "Curl of the Burl" was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in the category Best Metal/Hard Rock preformance
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance is a Grammy Award in the Rock Field that will start being presented as of 2012 at the 54th Grammy Awards. The Award combines the previous categories; Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Metal Performance...
. It's the bands second nomination with the first being for "Colony of Birchmen" in 2008.
Musical style and lyrical themes
Mastodon cross multiple heavy metal genres such as sludge metalSludge metal
Sludge metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that melds elements of doom metal and hardcore punk, and sometimes incorporates influences from southern rock, stoner rock and grunge. Sludge metal is typically abrasive; often featuring shouted vocals, heavily distorted instruments and sharply contrasting...
, progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
, stoner metal, Alternative Metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
, and groove metal
Groove metal
Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It was often used to describe Pantera and Exhorder.- Characteristics and origins :Pantera's Cowboys from Hell album from 1990 was described as "groundbreaking" and "blueprint-defining" for the groove metal genre...
. Their style has evolved over the years from their earliest work on Remission
Remission (Mastodon album)
Remission is the first full-length debut album by American sludge metal band Mastodon. It was released on May 28, 2002 through Relapse Records and was re-released on October 21, 2003.-Production:...
right through to The Hunter
The Hunter (Mastodon album)
The Hunter is the fifth studio album by the American metal band Mastodon. Released through Roadrunner Records on September 26, 2011 in the UK and one day later in the US via Reprise Records The Hunter is their first release with producer Mike Elizondo...
. Many of their songs features heavy and unique instrumentation with a mix of clean vocals and harsh screams.
Their four first albums all deal with a special theme respectively Fire, Water, Earth and Air. It is also stated that many of their albums deal with a concept.
Scott Kelly
Scott Kelly (musician)
Scott Michael Kelly is one of three founding members of Oakland, California experimental metal band Neurosis, in which he is a vocalist and guitarist. He has been writing and publishing music since 1985 with Neurosis, Tribes of Neurot, Blood and Time and his solo acoustic project. He is also...
of Neurosis
Neurosis (band)
Neurosis is a post-metal band, based in Oakland, California. They formed in 1985 as a hardcore punk band, and their sound progressed towards a doom metal style that also included influences from dark ambient and industrial music as well as incorporating elements of folk music...
has preformed vocals on every Mastodon album excluding Remission
Remission (Mastodon album)
Remission is the first full-length debut album by American sludge metal band Mastodon. It was released on May 28, 2002 through Relapse Records and was re-released on October 21, 2003.-Production:...
.
Leviathan
Leviathan (album)
Leviathan is a concept album by sludge metal band Mastodon, released in 2004 by Relapse Records. The album is loosely based on the Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick, and the songs "Iron Tusk", "Blood and Thunder", "I Am Ahab" and "Seabeast" were released as singles...
is about the novel Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
. It centers around the main characters and their thoughts during the story.
Blood Mountain
Blood Mountain (album)
-Story notes:* The main character is in search of the Crystal Skull which he hopes to place at the top of Blood Mountain. In the making of DVD, the Crystal Skull is supposed to remove "the reptile brain" causing its owner the ability to achieve the next step of human evolution.* In an interview...
is about a man who is searching for the "Crystal Skull" which is on top of the "Blood Mountain". During his journey he deals with many different creatures such as a "Cysquatch"
According to bassist Troy Sanders
Troy Sanders
Troy Sanders is an American bassist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares vocal duties with guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor.-Background:...
, "It's about climbing up a mountain and the different things that can happen to you when you're stranded on a mountain, in the woods, and you're lost. You're starving, hallucinating, running into strange creatures. You're being hunted. It's about that whole struggle."
Crack the Skye
Crack the Skye
Crack the Skye is the fourth studio album by American sludge metal band Mastodon, released on March 24, 2009 through Reprise Records. It features seven tracks and runs at 50 minutes and 6 seconds. The album debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200, selling 41,000 copies in its first week. In...
deals with many different themes. The title is a tribute to "Skye" the little sister of Drummer Brann Dailor
Brann Dailor
Brann Dailor is a drummer, best known as a member of Mastodon, a progressive metal band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Dailor was also a founding member of mathcore band Lethargy, and played with grindcore bands Discordance Axis and Today is the Day.-Personal life:Dailor was born into a musical family...
who committed suicide at the age of fourteen. Much of the album centers around astral projection and out of body experiences.
The Hunter
The Hunter (Mastodon album)
The Hunter is the fifth studio album by the American metal band Mastodon. Released through Roadrunner Records on September 26, 2011 in the UK and one day later in the US via Reprise Records The Hunter is their first release with producer Mike Elizondo...
does not deal with an entire concept like their earlier work but is remarked by the band to have an attachment to the Chinese classical element of wood. Songs such as Spectrelight or Black Tongue seem to have no meaning, while songs such as Dry Bone Valley (especially) and Octopus Has No Friends (a misnomer, as the song does not have anything to do with octopuses) are seemingly cut from a concept album. The title is a tribute to Hind's brother, Brad Hinds who died of a heart attack on December 4th 2010 while out hunting.
Legacy and reception
The "sludge/stoner/alternative metal outfit" Mastodon, as labelled by Allmusic, is "one of the preeminent metal acts of the early 21st century".BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
stated about Mastodon: "They might be bonkers of lyric, full of fantasy mumbo jumbo, but the band is unashamedly committed to its complex-of-composition craft, and the results have frequently stunned ever since their 2002 debut, Remission. They are the most ambitious, most fearless, most fun heavy metal band to have breached the mainstream since the genre oozed its way out of the Midlands in the 1970s."
Alternative Press has stated: "Mastodon are one of the all-time great hard-rock groups."
An article in the April 2009 issue of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
stated that "Mastodon are the greatest metal band of their generation - no one else comes close."
Discography
- RemissionRemission (Mastodon album)Remission is the first full-length debut album by American sludge metal band Mastodon. It was released on May 28, 2002 through Relapse Records and was re-released on October 21, 2003.-Production:...
(2002) - LeviathanLeviathan (album)Leviathan is a concept album by sludge metal band Mastodon, released in 2004 by Relapse Records. The album is loosely based on the Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick, and the songs "Iron Tusk", "Blood and Thunder", "I Am Ahab" and "Seabeast" were released as singles...
(2004) - Blood MountainBlood Mountain (album)-Story notes:* The main character is in search of the Crystal Skull which he hopes to place at the top of Blood Mountain. In the making of DVD, the Crystal Skull is supposed to remove "the reptile brain" causing its owner the ability to achieve the next step of human evolution.* In an interview...
(2006) - Crack the SkyeCrack the SkyeCrack the Skye is the fourth studio album by American sludge metal band Mastodon, released on March 24, 2009 through Reprise Records. It features seven tracks and runs at 50 minutes and 6 seconds. The album debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200, selling 41,000 copies in its first week. In...
(2009) - The HunterThe Hunter (Mastodon album)The Hunter is the fifth studio album by the American metal band Mastodon. Released through Roadrunner Records on September 26, 2011 in the UK and one day later in the US via Reprise Records The Hunter is their first release with producer Mike Elizondo...
(2011)
Members
Current members- Troy SandersTroy SandersTroy Sanders is an American bassist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares vocal duties with guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor.-Background:...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
(1999–present) - Brent HindsBrent HindsBrent Hinds is an American guitarist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor....
– guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, vocals (1999–present) - Bill KelliherBill KelliherBill Kelliher is a guitarist in the Atlanta heavy metal band Mastodon. He is a native of Victor, New York. He shares guitar duties with Brent Hinds, playing mainly complex rhythm parts. Kelliher is married, with two young sons—the eldest one named Harrison, after Harrison Ford of Star Wars fame...
– guitar, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
(1999–present) - Brann DailorBrann DailorBrann Dailor is a drummer, best known as a member of Mastodon, a progressive metal band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Dailor was also a founding member of mathcore band Lethargy, and played with grindcore bands Discordance Axis and Today is the Day.-Personal life:Dailor was born into a musical family...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals (1999–present)
Former members
- Eric Saner – lead vocals (1999–2000)